First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina

1. GEORGE THOMSON was born bef. about 1750 [1] and died ? [2]. He married ?

George Thomson petitioned the Council for a warrant for a grant of 100 acres on 6 Jan 1773, stating that he had arrived on the Hopewell among other Irish immigrants, and did not have funds to pay for his warrant.[3] On 17 May 1774 he petitioned the Council requesting certification of lapsed plats on bounty.[4] He filed again for 100 acres in Berkeley County on 30 Sep 1774[5]. The date of these first petitions corresponds to the date of his survey order for 100 acres on Kettle Creek (a branch of Horse Range Swamp), Saint Matthews Parish, Berkeley County; the surveyor was Thomas Platt [6]. The land was granted in 1775 [7] and in 1775 George Thomson subsequently filed a memorial for the property [8]. The size of the grant suggests that Thomson was alone in 1773 and 1774, but the later appearance in local records of Moses Thomson b. 1760-1770 suggests that he had a family at this time.

Association with the same families (especially Vance and Tate) and use of similar given names (Caroline Eugenia, Moses) suggests a connection with the Thomson family of Calhoun County, but if so that connection was in Ireland and has not been demonstrated.

In 1801 a plat was surveyed by Dennis Gilmore for 497 acres for George Thomson on Webb's Creek, a tributary of the Santee that is east of Horse Range Swamp and near modern Vance, SC [9]. That plat shows that the property was on Gaillard Road and also the Congaree Road, and was located between Peter Manigault's lands on the north and Augustus Flood or Flud's land on the south.

In 1803 a plat for 1,000 acres on Webb's Creek was surveyed for George Thomson adjacent John Avinger, John Stoutemire, and Moses Thomson [10].

George Thomson I was identified as an adjacent landowner on a series of plats in the early 1800's. These plats were filed by Lawrence Avinger in 1807 [11], by John McCune in 1808 [12], and again by John McCune in 1808 [2]. The properties in question were along the Gaillard Road in the Webb's Creek drainage.

A household in the 1810 census identified as that of "Mr. Thompson" included three males age 10-15, one female under 10, one female 15-25, one female 45 and over, with three slaves. The census shows that they were living very near Lawrence Avinger and adjacent John McCune, and thus apparently on the property on Gaillard Road at Webb's Creek. The absence of George Thomson himself in the 1810 census suggests that he died between 1808/9 and 1810 [13]. The 1818 tax list for Orangeburgh District shows George Thomson with 1200 acres of land and five slaves, for a total tax of $4.71, but the list does not appear to distinguish taxes on estates from those on living persons, and this may be misleading. [14]

Child of George Thomson I is:

a. MOSES THOMSON, born 1760-1770 [13], and died after 1840 [15]; married Mary [16], probable maiden name Vance (the Vance family were adjacent landowners to the Thompsons, and the name "Vance" occurs repeatedly in the Thompson family after this generation). Moses Thompson was probably a son of George Thomson I, but could have been a son or other relative. Moses Thompson had land surveyed on Horse Range Swamp in 1787 [17]. The survey was made by Thomas Platt. Moses Thompson was an adjacent landowner when George Thompson I had land surveyed on Webb's Creek in 1803 [10]. In 1806 Moses Thompson had land surveyed adjacent William Vance (owner of Vance's Ferry and descendant of early Orangeburgh settlers William and Sarah Vance) on the southeast, John McCune on the southwest, and Gabriel Manigault on the northwest [18]. In 1814 Moses Thomson sold land on the Santee adjoining James Richbourg to Lawrence Avinger [16]. An 1815 plat for Moses Thomson for 279 acres on the Santee was adjacent Peter Freneau, Charles Pinckney, Gen. Hampton, and a Manigault [19]. The 1825 Mills Atlas of South Carolina shows Charles Pinckney's land, and a ferry, at the mouth of Chapel Creek, so it is likely that this property was near modern Santee, SC.

In the 1820 census a "Mosses Thomson" is listed in a household of one male 16-18, one male 26-45, and one female 26-45, living adjacent "Ellick" [Alexander] Tate and Catherine Bell.[20] It is unclear who this is, since the age of the oldest male is too young to be the known Moses Thompson of this family. The location, however, is consistent with Moses Thompson's property acquired in 1815 [19], adjacent an 1827 plat for A. S. Tate on Chapel Branch.[21] The Bell family properties were immediately below Chapel Branch, on the south side of modern Santee, SC, where the Bell Cemetery is located. The census enumerator may simply have omitted the mark for the head of household or misplaced it, since other census figures indicate that Moses Thomson I was alive and aged 50-60 at this time.

In 1830 Moses Thomson, son of George Thomson I, was listed living alone, aged 60-70. [22] No inference could be made about location, since this census was alphabetized.

In 1840 Moses Thompson was listed in the federal census as a male 70-80 years old living with one female, aged 50-60. He was adjacent Jacob Gillette Way and Sampson Bannister, and very close to his son George Thompson. Frederick Dantzler and his son Lewis Dantzler, Margaret Vogt and James Parler were neighbors [23]. This places him in the Kettle Branch, Horse Range Swamp, area where George Thomson I had obtained his first property in the area following his 1773 petition [6] and where he filed a second plat in 1807.

Moses Thomson I and Mary Thomson had a least three children, all born between 1790 and 1800 according to the 1830 federal census and other data. These were sons Vance Thompson (born ca. 1795), George (II) Thompson (born1798), and Garrett Thompson (born 1799).

(1) Vance Thompson was listed in the 1830 census as a single male 30-40 years old [21]. He was listed in 1840 on page 318 as one male 40-50 years old living with a female aged 60-70 [27]. Vance Thompson last appears in the 1850 census as Orangeburg, St. Matthews Parish, #690/691, age 55, with a male age 22, D. Thompson. The census shows that Vance Thompson was living adjacent Daniel Avinger at the headwaters of the Horse Range Swamp. His property was valued at $1290.00 [25]. His land was shown northwest of Daniel Avinger's land on an 1849 plat of land originally granted to Daniel's uncle John Avinger in 1793 [28].

(2) George Thompson II first married Margaret Dantzler, daughter of Frederick Dantzler and Mary Ann Catherine Moorer, who was born 6 Sep 1799. In the 1820 census George Thomson was listed living near Gottlieb Ebinger, and thus on Horse Range Swamp, with 2 males age 16-26, two females over 45 years of age, and five slaves [24]. George Thompson II was listed in the 1830 census with another male born 1800-1810, one male under 5 and two males 5-10 years old [22]. Margaret Dantzler Thompson died 9 Dec 1839. In the 1840 census, George Thompson II was listed on page 318 with two males 5-10, two males 15-20, one male 40-50, two females under 5, one female 5-10, and one female 10-20 years old [23]. The 1850 federal census listed George, his second wife Rachel Connor Thompson age 42, daughter Ellen age 21, son Warren age 19, son Oliver age 18, daughter Caroline age 16, daughter Margaret age 11, son David age 5 and daughter Livinia age 2. His land was valued at $1500.00. [24]. George Thompson II is buried at the Dantzler-Hart cemetery near Well's Crossroads, SC; his dates are given there as birth 5 Nov 1798 and death 6 Nov 1858. By 1860 Rachael Connor Thompson was listed in the census as head of household, with other residents John W. Smith age 26, M. A. Smith age 20, David V. Thomson age 14, and L. W. Thompson age 11 [26].

(3) Garrett Thompson was buried at the Dantzler-Hart Cemetery adjacent George Thompson. Garret's dates were given as 6 Sep 1799 through 9 Dec 1839. No information has been found about his life.

REFERENCES:

1. Based on immigration to South Carolina as an adult in 1773.

2. Series Number S213192. Vol. 0041. Page 00368. Item 02, Date 1808/11/22. South Carolina Department of Archives and History.